Planning digest

City councillors are in support of dedicating one part-time bylaw officer to cigarette butt litter enforcement for a year. A motion from Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr, stemming from the most recent cleanliness and security in the downtown core task force meeting, received unanimous support Tuesday from the planning committee. The one-year pilot program would start immediately following a nine-month awareness campaign on cigarette butt litter. The campaign - kick-started by the keep Hamilton clean and green committee - would include warnings about pending enforcement. An information report on cigarette butt litter enforcement that came before Tuesday's meeting said staff believe a strategy similar to the one implemented by public health would result in more voluntary compliance from smokers around discarding cigarettes and would be more sustainable than "hard-targeted" enforcement. The report notes staff could "aggressively" and "proactively" enforce the bylaw around cigarette butt litter, but without additional resources, there would be an impact on other services. The issue of discarded cigarette butts is not new, with the task force on cleanliness and security in the downtown core having lobbied council to crack down on it for years.